I wouldn't miss any opportunity to drive to Paris, especially when, as it happened, I got the unique chance to meet two dear cousins of mine, Kostas and his spouse Mahi that I haven't seen in years... Being both doctors, you see, they came to attend an International Congress on thyroid "stuff" (that's all I know and far less I understand, mind you). This time Mahi came to Paris as one of the Congress keynote speakers, as she happens to be a leading expert on the subject, and she occasionally pitches in events like this.
This morning however, when the cousins were busy paying the dues at the congress, Rita and I went shopping at the Galleries Lafayette (is there anything else???). However, instead of following her in the shops, I walked about fifty meters (say yards) down the side street to find the second Apple temple of His Jobness in the Grandest Metropolis of the whole French speaking world. BTW, the first shop Jobs ever built in Paris can be found at the Louvre, the only suitable place in the capital to put such a thing. I also heard that Apple plans to build a third store in Paris, at Vélizy of all places, a suburb south west of the Peripherique. I almost fell off the chair when I heard a genius saying that! Jesus Mary and Joseph! If they can put a store at Vélizy, they can put one in freakin' Brussels as well, can't they! Morons! Have you ever visited Vélizy? Unfortunately, I have, folks! And will never go back there, trust me! Incidentally, there happens to be a Texas Instruments facility at Vélizy too... that might perhaps explain my inexplicable fury!
I eventually ended up spending quite a few hours at the Applestore, waiting for Rita to come back from harvesting my credit cards at the Paris equivalent of Harrods (Printemps and G. Lafayette, that is). In the meantime, I shot a few clips of the interior, of the customers, and the Apple Geniuses training those who wanted to be trained, and all this with my iPhone 4. I then put them clips together with iMovie, added titles and transitions, and some background music, while muting the original clip sounds (these were actually sort-of sheer noise from the shouting clients - rushing to buy the last available iPhone and iPod Touch, nooot? ) Finally I used the free store wifi and uploaded my Spielberg marvel into YouTube. Enjoy it here folks... All done with a "stupid" iPhone, right? Ain't that something? It used to take me days to do that sort of thing, and in far lesser quality mind you, some 15 years ago. Using 3 to 5X more expensive gear. And now, I done it all with a... phone for cryin' out loud! I mean, what else is the future still gonna bring about? Are we going to talk to a darn mobile gadget, tell it to go shoot some scenes on its own, and it will then serve us with a whole bleedin' movie? How far is the media gadgetery going to still improve in the future? What else are they gonna come up with? Makes you wonder...I'm so pleased to have convinced cousin Kosta too, to go buy an iPad soon. After a five minute demo yesterday, he couldn't believe his eyes about what he saw happening on the little tablet. He just wanted one on the spot. "Mahi, you gotta buy me one of these!" he said. A childlike wonder shone inside him. And he's already consumed the best part of 61 years, not to forget! The miracles of technology! But Kostas does medical miracles too. He therefore deserves such a beautiful gadget, doesn't he? Sure does!
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